BLS to publish seasonally adjusted data for Asians and Hispanics

With the release of January 2015 data on February 6, 2015, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will begin publishing monthly seasonally adjusted labor force data for Asians and for Hispanic adult men, adult women, and teenagers in The Employment Situation news release.

These new seasonally adjusted series for the unemployment rate and other major indicators will allow users for the first time to directly compare statistics from the current month to statistics from prior months. Historical data for these new series will be available back to 2003.

Beginning February 6, 2015, these new seasonally adjusted series will be published in tables A-2 and A-3 of the Employment Situation news release [HTML] [PDF].

In the past, BLS was not able to seasonally adjust these data because of the small sample size, the volatility of the series, or the lack of sufficient historical data. More information about seasonal adjustment can be found at www.bls.gov/cps/cpsrs2015.pdf.

Short-run movements in labor force time series are strongly influenced by periodic fluctuations associated with recurring calendar-related events such as seasonal changes in weather, holidays, and the opening and closing of schools. Seasonal adjustment removes the influence of these large recurring movements and makes it easier for users to observe fundamental changes in the level of these series.